April condo sales down, listings up as market softens

The month of April has been a big month in the Cape Coral condo market for the past several years In fact, the alltime single month record high for the number of closed condo sales in the Cape occurred back in April 2021 with 132 closed sales The peak month for condo sales in 2022, despite a sharp 30 % decline from 2021, was also in April with 92 closed sales

Dear John and Dorothy,

We have many clients that created living (or revocable) trusts in the 1990s, primarily to mitigate the potential bite of the estate tax Today, with an exemption of over $12 million per person, this is no longer a concern for anyone I know The trust still does provide a benefit, in that any assets titled to it will avoid probate The assets also have the potential to be shielded from the creditors of your beneficiaries

H ow ever, the “s eas on” appears to have ended a bit earlier this year as there were only 49 condo sales posted in the Cape this April, likely shifting the peak month for condo sales in 2023 into the month of March with 74 closed sales Clearly, the condo market has slowed down and leveled off in a much needed pause As you look at the condo market numbers below, we would point out both the change in the market dynamics and the growing divergence between the number of listings and list prices versus the number of pending sales and pending sales prices, along with the number of closed sales and median sales prices These numbers seem to be indicating a continued softening in our condo market

Bob and Geri Quinn

Homing In

171 active condo listings in the Cape at prices ranging from $176,100 to $1 9 million, with the median list price also at $320,000 At that time, there were 35 c o n d o u n i t s l i s t e d a t $ 2 5 0 , 0 0 0 a n d under, including only 8 condos priced below $200,000 and 23 condos priced above $500,000 with 7 of these listed above $1 million About one year ago on June 7, 2022, there were only 105 active listings for condos in the Cape through t h e M L S a t p r i c e s r a n g i n g f r o m $ 1 5 9 , 0 0 0 t o $ 1 7 m i l l i o n , w i t h t h e median list price at $315,000

P Feichthaler Real Estate Law

A trust is similar to a corporate entity, in that it does not have a natural “Death ” I assume your trust provides that your two children are the beneficiaries of your trust? If so, when you both pass, the successor trustee would distribute the assets (including your residence) to the two of them, and the property would not have to go through probate Due to the nature of trusts, the trust cannot be a life tenant through a life estate deed, so you would not have a trust AND a life estate deed impacting your home

One thing to consider is to deed the property out of our trust and into your individual names, then execute an enhanced life estate deed naming your two children Most of my clients prefer this method, which leads to an immediate ownership by the beneficiaries at death If you are considering this option, I do recommend you speak with an attorney first, as your trust may still provide you some of the benefits you sought when you created it in 1998

Eric P Feichthaler has lived in Cape Coral for over 35 years and graduated from Mariner High School in Cape Coral After completing law school at Georgetown U n i v e r s i t y i n W a s h i n g t o n , D C , h e r e t u r n e d t o Southwest Florida to practice law and raise a family He served as mayor of Cape Coral from 2005-2008, and continues his service to the community through the Cape Coral Caring Center, Cape Coral Museum of History, and Cape Coral Kiwanis He has been married to his wife, Mary, for over 20 years, and they have four children together He earned his board certification in Real Estate Law from the Florida Bar He is AV Preeminent rated by Martindale-Hubbell for professional ethics and legal ability, and is a Supreme Court Certified Circuit Civil Mediator. He can be reached at eric@capecoralattorney com, or 239-542-4733

This article is general in nature and not intended as legal advice to anyone Individuals should seek legal counsel before acting on any matter of legal rights and obligations

As of Tuesday, May 30, there were a total of 252 active listings for Cape Coral condos through a Realtor in the Multiple Listing Service at prices ranging from $135,000 to $3 9 million The median list price for Cape condos came in at $320,000 and there were a total of 52 units available at $250,000 and under, including 15 units priced below $200,000

At the other end of the price spectrum, there were 62 condos in the Cape at list prices of $500,000 and up, with 18 of these units priced at $1 million and above This compares to a month ago on April 25, when there were 230 active condo listings in the Cape with a median list price of $314,950 Going back to Jan 5 of this year, there were

There are currently 78 pending condo sales in the Cape (as of May 30) at prices ranging from $159,900 to $649,000 with a median pending sales price of $297,000 This includes 23 units under contract at $250,000 and under, and a total of 49 condos or 62 8% of the pending condo sales in the Cape priced at $325,000 and under. At the higher end of our market, there were only 3 condos under contract with a buyer at $599,000 to $649,900 A month ago on April 25, there were 86 pending condo sales in the Cape at prices ranging from $169,500 to $725,000 with the median pending sales price at $300,000 On Jan 5 of this year, there were 54 pending condo sales ranging from $150,000 to $2 195 million, and on June 7, 2022, there were 75 Cape Coral condos under contract as pending sales Two years ago on June 9, 2021, there were 127 pending condo sales in the pipeline with only 50 active condo listings through a Realtor in the Cape priced from $95,000 to $1 025 million

In the overall Cape condo market, there were 49 closed sales in the month of April, which was 46 7% lower than the 92 closed condo sales in April 2022, and 33 8% below the 74 sales in March of this year In the first four months

See APRIL, page 17

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